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Joseph Stalin
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1924
January
21
The death of Lenin
On 21 January 1924 Lenin died at Gorki near Moscow. His body was placed in a mausoleum, and a struggle for power began in the party, which Stalin won.
1927
November
12
Trotsky expelled from the party
In November 1927, after opposition marches on the revolution's 10th anniversary, Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled. Stalin had won the fight to succeed Lenin.
1928
October
01
The first Five-Year Plan
On 1 October 1928 the first Five-Year Plan began. Stalin built heavy and arms industry at the expense of the countryside, and collectivisation led to famine.
1934
December
01
The murder of Kirov
On 1 December 1934 at the Smolny, Leonid Nikolaev shot Sergei Kirov, the Leningrad party chief. Stalin used the crime to unleash a wave of repression.
1936
August
19
The first Moscow trial
On 19–24 August 1936 Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others were tried in Moscow for conspiring with Trotsky and murdering Kirov. All were shot.
October
01
Key event
The Great Purge
On 1 October 1936 Nikolai Yezhov took over the NKVD. In 1937–1938 his men arrested 1.5 million people and shot about 680,000, including many army commanders.
1939
September
28
The Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Pact
On 28 September 1939, under threat of war, Estonia signed a mutual assistance pact in Moscow, giving the USSR bases and the right to station 25,000 troops.
October
05
The Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Pact
On 5 October 1939 Latvia, under threat of force, signed a mutual assistance pact in Moscow. The USSR gained bases at Liepāja and Ventspils and 25,000 troops.
10
The Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty
On 10 October 1939 Lithuania signed a mutual assistance pact in Moscow. It received Wilno, seized from Poland, but had to accept 20,000 Soviet troops.
12
Soviet demands on Finland
On 12 October 1939 Stalin and Molotov demanded of Paasikivi a base at Hanko, islands and part of the Karelian Isthmus in exchange for land in Karelia.
November
01
The USSR annexes eastern Poland
On 1–2 November 1939 the Supreme Soviet annexed eastern Poland to the Ukrainian and Byelorussian SSRs, citing rigged “elections” of 22 October.
1940
February
11
The German–Soviet commercial agreement
On 11 February 1940 Germany and the USSR signed a trade agreement in Moscow. Soviet grain, oil and ores were to flow to the Reich for machinery and arms.
March
05
Decision to shoot Polish prisoners
On 5 March 1940 the Politburo adopted Beria's proposal to shoot 14,700 Polish POWs and 11,000 prisoners without trial. Stalin was among the signatories.
1941
April
13
Key event
The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact
On 13 April 1941 Molotov and Matsuoka signed a five-year neutrality pact in the Kremlin. The USSR secured its east; Japan its rear before the drive south.
May
12
The USSR recognises Rashid Ali’s government
On 12 May 1941 the Soviet Union recognised Rashid Ali al-Gaylani’s government, then ten days into its war with Britain – a gesture by Stalin towards Berlin.
July
03
Stalin’s speech of 3 July
On 3 July 1941, in his first radio address since the German attack, Stalin called for a patriotic war, partisan warfare and scorched earth.
12
The Anglo-Soviet Agreement
On 12 July 1941 Cripps and Molotov signed an agreement on joint action in the Kremlin. Britain and the USSR pledged mutual help and ruled out a separate peace.
September
08
The deportation of the Volga Germans
A decree of 28 August 1941 condemned the Volga Germans to expulsion. From 3 to 20 September the NKVD deported some 440,000 people to Siberia and Kazakhstan.
10
The encirclement at Kiev
On 10 September 1941 Guderian's tanks entered Romny while Kleist prepared to strike from Kremenchuk. On 15 September the pincers closed near Lokhvytsia.
October
16
The Moscow panic
On 16 October 1941, after the decision to move the government to Kuybyshev, panic gripped Moscow. Stalin stayed; on 19 October a state of siege was declared.
18
The arrest of Richard Sorge
On 18 October 1941 Japanese police in Tokyo arrested Richard Sorge, the Soviet spy who for a month had been reporting that Japan would not attack the USSR.
30
Lend-Lease for the USSR
On 30 October 1941 Roosevelt approved the supplies agreed in Moscow and offered Stalin an interest-free credit of a billion dollars under Lend-Lease.
November
06
Stalin’s speech of 6 November
On 6 November 1941 Stalin spoke in Mayakovskaya metro station, and on 7 November he took the parade on Red Square, from which troops marched to the front.
December
04
The Sikorski–Stalin declaration
On 4 December 1941 General Sikorski and Stalin signed a declaration of friendship and mutual aid at the Kremlin. Anders's army was to grow and move south.
05
Key event
The counter-offensive at Moscow
On 5 December 1941 the Kalinin Front, and on 6 December the Western Front, struck an exhausted Army Group Centre. The Germans fell back along the whole front.
1942
January
05
Stalin orders a general offensive
On 5 January 1942 Stalin, overruling Zhukov, ordered attacks on all fronts. On 7 January the Moscow counter-offensive ended, but the Germans held their front.
May
12
The Kharkov offensive
On 12 May 1942 Timoshenko's armies struck at Kharkiv from two sides. Within days the attack bogged down, while Kleist's counter-stroke loomed in the south.
July
12
The creation of the Stalingrad Front
On 12 July 1942 the Stavka formed the Stalingrad Front from the shattered South-Western Front's command and three reserve armies to shield the Volga.
August
12
Churchill in Moscow
On 12 August 1942 Churchill flew to Moscow and told Stalin in the Kremlin that there would be no second front in France in 1942.
27
Zhukov becomes Deputy Supreme Commander
At the end of August 1942 Stalin made General of the Army Georgy Zhukov his deputy and sent him to Stalingrad to coordinate the city's defence.
1943
January
19
Zhukov made Marshal of the Soviet Union
In January 1943 Georgy Zhukov became the first commander of the war to be made Marshal of the USSR, and on 28 January received Order of Suvorov 1st Class No. 1.
March
16
Stalin demands a second front
In March 1943 Congress extended Lend-Lease, and on 15–16 March Stalin warned Churchill and Roosevelt against further delay to an invasion of France.
August
05
The liberation of Oryol and Belgorod
On 5 August 1943 the Red Army retook Oryol and Belgorod at opposite ends of the Kursk salient. That night Moscow fired its first victory salute of the war.
September
25
Key event
The liberation of Smolensk
On 25 September 1943 the Western Front drove the Germans from ruined Smolensk. Nearby Katyn also fell to the Soviets, and the NKVD began covering its tracks.
November
06
Key event
The liberation of Kiev
On the morning of 6 November 1943 General Vatutin's 1st Ukrainian Front took the ruined city of Kiev – on the eve of the anniversary of the October Revolution.
28
Key event
The Tehran Conference
On 28 November 1943 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Tehran. They decided to invade France in May 1944 and discussed Poland without its government.
1944
June
22
Key event
Operation Bagration begins
On 22 June 1944, the third anniversary of Germany's attack on the USSR, four Soviet fronts opened an offensive in Belarus against Army Group Centre.
September
08
The Red Army in Bulgaria
On 8 September 1944 the Red Army entered Bulgaria unopposed, three days after the USSR declared war on it. That evening Sofia declared war on Germany.
1945
March
27
Eisenhower gives up Berlin
At the end of March 1945 Eisenhower decided that the Allies' main objective was not Berlin but Leipzig and Dresden. He left the Reich's capital to the Red Army.
May
09
Victory Day in the USSR
A decree of 8 May 1945 made 9 May Victory Day in the USSR. That evening Stalin announced the end of the war with Germany, and Moscow fired a 30-salvo salute.
June
18
The Trial of the Sixteen
On 18–21 June 1945 a Soviet military court in Moscow tried the leaders of the Polish Underground State, seized by deceit, including Okulicki and Jankowski.
August
08
Key event
The USSR declares war on Japan
On 8 August 1945 Molotov handed Japan's ambassador a declaration of war. A few hours later, on 9 August local time, the Red Army entered Manchuria.